Terms of Service
Plain-language terms for using Short Order Studio. Please read them before you create an account or place an order.
1. Who we are
Short Order Studio ("we," "us") designs and builds websites and browser games to order through shortorderstudio.org (the "Site"). Short Order Studio is currently operated by an individual and is not yet a registered business entity. These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and Short Order Studio.
By creating an account, placing an order, or otherwise using the Site, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, please don't use the Site. Questions? Email customerservice@shortorderstudio.org.
2. Eligibility and accounts
You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live, to create an account or place an order. If you order on behalf of an organization, you confirm you're authorized to bind it to these Terms.
You're responsible for keeping your login details secure and for activity under your account. Give us accurate information and keep it up to date. Tell us right away if you think your account has been accessed without permission.
3. Estimates are not offers
Prices, totals, ranges and timeframes shown on the Site, including in the order builder and your account, are non-binding estimates for information only. They are not offers, quotes, guarantees or promises. Actual price and timing may differ.
Domain prices shown are estimates based on typical registrar pricing. Registrars set and may change their own prices, and a domain's availability isn't guaranteed until it is actually registered.
4. Orders and quotes
Submitting an order or inquiry is a request for us to consider your project. It does not create a contract and does not oblige either of us to anything. We may review, decline, or ask questions about any order, at our sole discretion and for any lawful reason, without explanation.
If we choose to take on a project, we may post a quote in your account. A quote describes the price we're willing to accept for the project as described and may include an estimated timeframe. A quote may expire or be withdrawn before you approve it. A binding agreement for a project forms only when you approve a quote and we confirm, by email, that payment arrangements are complete.
5. Payment
No payments are taken through the Site. After you approve a quote, we contact you by email to arrange payment. Unless we agree otherwise in writing, payment is due before work begins. You're responsible for any taxes, registrar fees, hosting fees or other third-party costs that apply to your project.
6. Timelines
Any timeframe we give, whether on the Site, in a quote or in a message, is an estimate only. We may complete work sooner or later than estimated. Selecting a "Rush" timeline asks us to prioritize your project but does not guarantee any completion date. Delays may result from project complexity, changes you request, waiting on your feedback or materials, third-party services, or circumstances outside our control. A missed estimate is not a breach of these Terms.
7. Your materials and responsibilities
You're responsible for the text, images, logos, music, data and other materials you give us ("Your Materials"). You confirm that you own them or have every right needed for us to use them in your project, and that they don't infringe anyone's rights or break any law.
You give us a limited license to use Your Materials only to provide our services to you. You're responsible for reviewing your project before it's delivered or published, and for the content, legality and operation of your site or game once it's live.
8. Projects we won't take
We may refuse or stop work on any project. Without limiting that, we won't build anything that:
- is illegal, or promotes illegal activity;
- infringes or misappropriates anyone's intellectual property or privacy rights;
- impersonates a real person, business or organization, or is designed to deceive (including phishing pages, fake login or payment pages, or fake reviews);
- contains malware or is designed to harm devices, networks or data;
- harasses, threatens, or targets private individuals; or
- contains sexual content involving minors, or otherwise exploits or endangers children.
9. Revisions, cancellations and refunds
You may cancel an order from your account at any time before you approve a quote, at no charge. After you approve a quote, cancellation and refund terms are those stated in the quote or agreed in writing by email. If none are stated, we may keep payment for work already performed and any non-refundable third-party costs (such as domain registrations), and refund the rest.
The number of revision rounds included, if any, is set in the quote. Changes beyond the agreed scope may require a new or updated quote.
10. Ownership and licenses
When a project is paid in full, you own the custom work we create specifically for you and deliver to you (the "Deliverables"), excluding the items below. Until paid in full, all rights in the Deliverables remain with us.
Deliverables may include third-party components such as open-source libraries, fonts, images, or services. Those remain subject to their own licenses, which you agree to follow. We keep ownership of our pre-existing tools, code, templates and know-how, and grant you a non-exclusive, perpetual license to use any of them that are included in your Deliverables, as part of your project.
Unless you ask us not to in writing, we may display completed public work in our portfolio. We won't display private or invite-only projects without your permission.
11. Portfolio and concepts
Projects on the Site marked "Concept" are unpaid samples we created to demonstrate our work. They are not client work, are not affiliated with or endorsed by any business, organization or person they name or depict, and are not anyone's official website. Names, contact details, prices and data shown in concepts are placeholders.
12. Third-party services
Your project may rely on third-party services such as domain registrars, hosting providers, payment processors or email services. We don't control and aren't responsible for those services, their availability, pricing or terms, which are between you and the provider.
13. Acceptable use of the Site
Don't misuse the Site. That includes trying to access accounts or data that aren't yours, probing or disrupting our systems, sending spam or automated requests, or using the Site for anything illegal. We may suspend or close accounts that violate these Terms.
14. Disclaimers
The Site and our services are provided "as is" and "as available." To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. We don't warrant that the Site, any Deliverable, or any third-party service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or meet your requirements, or that any project will achieve any particular result.
15. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Short Order Studio will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill or business opportunity, arising out of or related to the Site, our services or these Terms, even if we were advised such damages were possible.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability for all claims arising out of or related to the Site, our services or these Terms is limited to the amount you actually paid us for the specific project giving rise to the claim in the 12 months before the claim arose, or $50 if you haven't paid us anything. Some jurisdictions don't allow certain limitations, so some of these may not apply to you.
16. Indemnity
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Short Order Studio from any claims, damages, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from Your Materials, your use of the Site or Deliverables, or your breach of these Terms or of any law or third-party right.
17. Ending your account
You can stop using the Site at any time and ask us to close your account by emailing customerservice@shortorderstudio.org. We may suspend or close your account if you breach these Terms or if we stop offering the Site. Sections that by their nature should survive (such as ownership, disclaimers, limitation of liability and indemnity) survive after your account closes.
18. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we do, we'll change the effective date at the top, and for significant changes we may also notify you by email or on the Site. Changes apply from the effective date and won't affect a quote you already approved. Continuing to use the Site after changes take effect means you accept them.
19. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and of the U.S. state in which Short Order Studio's operator resides, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Before filing any claim, you agree to first contact us at administration@shortorderstudio.org and try to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.
20. General
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any quote you approve, are the entire agreement between you and us about their subject. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. Our not enforcing a right isn't a waiver of it. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms without our written consent.
Contact: customerservice@shortorderstudio.org for orders and support, or administration@shortorderstudio.org for legal and business matters.